Monday, August 31, 2015

India a country with centuries of rich history struggles to come to terms with modern societal mores while impeded by a caste system that runs interference to much that a democracy promises.

A nation with several religious systems many firmly atatched to centuries old traditions and feudal laws totally at odds with those which have evolved in the often envied western judeo christian ethos.

Of course Islam is much publicised in its barbaric sharia laws that are little changed fifteen hundred years from its founding by a paedophile murderous leader now held as the basis for every captive adherent but in this world they are not alone.

Other forces at play in the worlds largest democracy, religious and cultural, hold the people of India in a bondage that beggars belief, that can even equal the depraved outcomes that Sharia delivers such as tossing blindfolded gays to their death many floors down, hacking limbs off miscreants, stoning rape victims to death for allowing themselves to be raped, among them.

Emerging news from some benighted place in India has an unfolding drama that also sickens.
A woman of a higher caste, disatisfied with her marital lot falls in love with a younger man of a lower caste and they elope. Christ on a bike it happens here in little old NZ and such infidelity passes almost un-noticed until the new patriarch decides the spawn of the previous lord and master are a threat to his manhood and another child ends up on a mortuary slab after many thousands of health dollars are torched in a doomed effort to salvage the life of the innocent little mite at Starship.
Not that simple in this longdrop village in the Sub Continent where the elopement must be punished by "The Village Elders" who in their infinite wisdom include the eloping mans sisters in culpability.
They are sentenced to be raped, publically humiliated, paraded through the village with blackened faces and of course then be thrown on the refuse heap as unmarriageable now valueless chattels.

Jesus wept, who would be the administering official for the raping, would he be just doing his duty or would he be allowed to take a miniscule smidgeon of pleasure as the judicial delivery boy. The sordid details so far published do not state any numbers of punishments to be delivered, do all the elders who are capable, get to do their bit to ensure justice and respect for local law is maintained.

While we, in an enlightened and supposedly humane administering of justice, have dangerous bastards able to easily circumvent electronic monitoring as a less custodial method of punishment, allowed to roam free with little ensuring of protection and assured safety for the law abiding, this depraved extraordinarily savage punishment is dished out by citizens of a fellow member of the UN and the Commonwealth to people no more connected to a crime of no advantage to themselves than they were someone's bloody next of kin, Nick Smith, John Tamihere, Carmel Sepuloni you don't know how lucky you are.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Thank you Mikey, more blimmin Crats making work and creating nothing of value, only mirages of doing something that in all probability wont make a blind bit of difference.

Are 'platform shoes a H & S problem for a polly with a seemingly endless stash of idiocy in a safe in his office.

Yesterday, a news report told us a farmer had died and there was possibly an ATV involved in that tragedy.
Amidst the jargon and sensation was a bit that claimed it required the fire crew to remove the machine from a 'ditch' then recover the body of the deceased near a laneway on flat terrain.

So what really happened, well as far as the nincompoop reporter is concerned the following points were prominently aired.
1 A 'farmer' died on a 'farm'.
2 An ATV was involved.
3 The Fire Service attended.
4 The general terrain was flat.
5 A drain/ditch was involved.

So as "Big Mike" Micky Woodhouse was piloting his latest abortion on matters, 'Dying at Work' through the parliament, this unfolding tragedy had relevance somehow.

What that very current and possibly pertinent as regards news cycle timing news, did not state was;
1 Was the Farmer farming or not.
2 How 'dead' was the alleged victim when discovered.
3 Could there be any observable clues as to what initial evidence indicates might have happened.
4 Was the victim wearing an approved hat and or Hi-Viz clothing.
5 Was there any attempt at resuscitation

Now I am not asking for a bunch of talking heads to speculate or make stuff up but there is so much observable evidence in plain view. Weather and ground conditions, tracks/wheel marks, vehicle damage, any animals, any modifications attachments or additional loading as regards the machine, age experience and physical condition of the victim, clear hazards in addition to 'normal' whatever that might mean.

Now before any retards suggest that this post is insensitive or badly timed, it is made on the principles involved and no comment on the already published location down to quite small variables, some quite revealing information on the victim and images of a property that will be no mystery to those closest to all involved in the tragedy.

Alas the guts of what actually happened will only be revealed when the coronial inquiry and findings are released some months in the future when for the general public it will be of little relevance other than another sad statistic on a possibly avoidable death that occurred on farmland.
I accept that the reality of such an inquest due process but the bare bones headers and hints when safety of all involved in a very disparate and potentially lethal industrial activity was skimmed over as infotainment, a fluff piece is how it appeared to me.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Radio reports this morning have the Omihi Public Hall on the corner of Reeces Rd and SH 1 20kms north of the rapidly growing "waiting for God" town of Amberley, destroyed by fire.

That is a bit of my history and it leaves a wound.
In 1990, swmbo and self lost a home in the Wairarapa settlement of Bideford and those scars are still raw 25 years on.
In any NZ remote rural district "The Hall along with the school are the hub, the center of the community, the loss of either damaging that heart and soul, the community cement if you will.

My first memory of what was the 'home ground of Glenmark Rugby, an iconic team of North Canterbury Sub Union, came not from the winter game but from that 'Domain hosting the Gymkhana as a summer holiday event c1960, where horse sport fanatics gathered for displaying some very basic skills in fierce competition.

Situated on a couple of acres of land donated by local farmer Bob Little who owned the surrounding farm, the Domain with its Hall, the Anzac memorial and the primary school opposite on the side road, with the Railway siding and two or three railway houses half a km to the north that was Omihi in 1964.
Following marriage, my first job was in the Omihi district and membership of that rugby club, Glenmark. In those days had no All Blacks, Griz had just left school and the now impressive roll of notable ABs were still in the future. Most Rural clubs had a service town to support the player roster with stock agents, school teachers, staff from a garage, a store, a transport company, a local builder and a shearing contractor to augment the farming youth. In Glenmark's case the farming youth was it, yet the club fashioned a formidable reputation.
Oh to be sure Local Farmer Jack Sloss, one of the larger farm operators, employed some promising young men, as getting a job working for Jack had rugby ability as a major prerequisite skill.

When I was a member, the club operated out of the typical HQ for any country club of the day, consisting of two concrete block changing rooms with shared showers and the basic tea room where the Sheila's made the afternoon teas, for the after match before the players returned home to do the farm chores. A construction that doubled as the "pavilion for the adjacent tennis club.
The Hall was merely the site of the "annual Football Club Ball" at seasons end that possibly created a spike in the local birth rate some nine months later.

In later years as the clubs mana increased with the succession of All Blacks commencing with Alex Griz Wylie came out of that remarkable Club.
Robbie and Bruce Deans, Richard Loe, Andy Earl, Scott Hamilton all bred in the district plus Andy Jefford, Todd Blackadder Graeme Higginson and Craig Green as Club players who made the All Blacks led to the adjacent Hall becoming the club HQ.

It seems that hall with its club memorabilia has been razed in a dead of night blaze, so many memories, so sad but as with our loss c1990 no one lost their life, still, bugger, bugger, bugger.

Bloody hard tiring work to boot, where any slip or momentary lapse of attention, concentration or non-observance of real time serious prevention measures in the face of unforeseen danger that can threaten at any time, with potentially lethal outcome, just waiting to pounce

Health and Safety for Farmers is so different to any other industry.
There are a plethora of hazards across a multitude of operations in all weathers over as variable a collection of terrain as can be imagined.
One person can be required to operate an ATV, a 4wd utility, a large wheel tractor with a potential life threatening device attached front and rear, a Digger, fire arms, explosives, hand tools both manual and powered, all while talking on a cellphone to a Crat wanting to ask stupid questions as to what that farmer is doing about H& S, then after Breakfast he might face a real hazard in the form of a Bank manager/financial advisor.
After smoko there could be a Hi Viz clad clip board carrying Crat, another one, wanting to ask dumb questions that she/he may have no comprehension of, as to any relevant application of a given answer.

The cook has gone to women's division, golf or garden club so getting lunch will present all the dangers a chef faces without anything approaching the training and skill said chef has.
After lunch, as if that was not hazardous enough, there are a mob of large Friesian bulls requiring attention as the meat schedule has just plunged so they will be given another treatment and turned out for another period of just getting bigger, meaner and an even greater hazard.
Before afternoon smoko there are a bunch of stags with an attending veterinarian to administer the anaesthetic (to the stags) before removal of the antlers.
After smoko a bunch of gun toting itinerants complete with a pack of pig dogs wanting to access the back paddock for that old Captain Cooker that has been killing lambs for the last two years.
Then before the day ends that farmer may be cutting up dog tucker, wielding a knife and an axe both sharp enough to do serious damage but barely sharp enough to cut the bloody dog meat.

Just as he /she is about to sink into the lazyboy to watch the infotainment hour before the weather forecast, the partner arrives home from garden club or the meeting of the collie club to announce that the heifers are on the road because the bloody pig hunters left a gate open.
At least that gets the farmer away from the shallow inane oh so annoying matters that the modern excuse for a journalist truly believes the watchers want their "opinion" on, that in all probability wont even happen.
Now that is a constant threat to the H & S of the flat screen TV.

Finally the poor bugger will in all probability fall asleep with a cold dinner on knee only to be awoken by yet another moron wanting to meet at ten tomorrow to discuss another mindless matter requiring answers to fill in the morons day but will only give the farmer further grief.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

The monthly page views for the last 30 days goes past 100 000 so even if it is knockers, pessimists, supporters, or merely the bored who take the time to drop by, it gives this contributor some quiet satisfaction.

With "No Minister" at around tenth ranked in open parachute's blog rankings and the off line positive comments by email from what I consider good people, I am very comfortable with what I contribute here.
The snide shallow negative comments are further encouragement, even more so when the black dog stays in its kennel.

A humble thankyou to my enablers, fellow contributors, supporters and constructive critics for the opportunity that allows any small part I play here.

I also wish to thank in this self indulgent discourse, those from elsewhere in the political blog world who offer support and encouragement both personal and professional.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

As the parliament moves to allow adults to behave like adults with the RWC games in the dawn hours by legislating to alleviate the suffocating politically correct nonsense that will ask Bars wishing to host watchers who just might want a beer to be forced to seek "Special Licences" to keep within the law.

Now those specials include a fee resulting in Mine Host to do some maths, then seek a special that the police and wowsers can frustrate, leading to even more costs.

But but but, some feral might get liquored up and go home and beat up the current missus, what planet are they on, there are plenty of ways such a mongrel can achieve that without paying pub prices to get sufficiently pissed to have such an outcome unravel.

Then what about the old ones; vagrancy, no visible means of support, indecent exposure, swearing, spitting, affray, consorting,

I wonder if we will ever grow up and let consenting adults do legal actions without some freakin do gooder nosy bastard getting involved, probably not while the totally stupid MMP gives unwarranted relevance to subnormals who would struggle to get a job as a lollipop thingy.

Probably not while melons get a platform that allows them to be total morons.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The vertically challenged maestro, fresh from his mismanagement of legislation to make entomology and oligochaeta farming significantly more dangerous than working with unsettled cattle many times the weight of the handler, in confined spaces, the small man with a massively over rated ego is now putting out smoke as a diversionary tactic. It comes in the form of a half baked equally bizarre scheme around commerce being conducted on days significant to a minority of the citizens who claim a religious connection that has in the past treated Friday and Sunday of Easter weekend and Christmas Day as days that current chaotic rules treat differently in different places, around lawful trading

Taupo and Queenstown are open for business while Rotorua and Wanaka both within an easy drive are closed for trading. A dairy and a gas station in 'closed' towns can sell their goods but a supermarket can not, people who wish to take the opportunity to do significant gardening works cannot purchase supplies from a garden centre on three days of no moment to a majority of the citizens
In a classic effort at fiddling while "Rome" burns, he still maintains the historical religious beliefs are relevant, but proposes to transfer interpretation of the National laws governing those three days to local bodies for future discretionary treatment. What a cop out that only succeeds to make what is already a dogs breakfast regurgitated and consumed again, even more convoluted, confusing, totally unfair and too often unreasonable.

To suggest that the morning hours until noon of April 25th is in anyway a similar case is moronic in the extreme!
The days on the Christian religious calendar deemed sufficiently sacred to a diminishing minority, currently assessed by Statistics at 47%, most of whom become adherents only for those three days, while their enthusiastic attendance at a house of worship is a complete non event for the other 362 days of the year.
Anzac Day is the day of great signifcance for the whole nation where attending numbers that are increasing year on year, pay homage and give thanks to those who fought, risked their lives and for some who died in their service, to ensure our nation, its freedoms and our heritage are enjoyed today. That makes it truly sacred to me.

Monday, August 24, 2015

It gives Adolf no pleasure to observe that if New Zealand had a credible opposition, the wood duck responsible for the hash which is changes to work place safety rules would by now have been replaced.

Of course, Adolf sees only that which is carried by the media and various vested interest blogs so it is difficult to see what really is going on. However, Woodhouse's greatest crime is his mishandling of the media and his apparent lack of political nous. This man is not a future PM.

Well those of us old enough to remember such classics as "I am the very model of a modern major general", " he is such a very bad lot", and many other lines that entered our language.

Back in the day, before TV entered our lives with its suffocating effect of subduing the creative side of the citizenry to entertain themselves, there was in the real world of the peasants, Operetta for entertainment. At the forefront for English speaking peoples much of it came from Gilbert and Sullivan.

Light easy listening music created by Gilbert and lyrics from the pen of Arthur Sullivan.
Words that had buried amidst them much social commentary and satire.

All classes of the Victorian era enjoyed what the duo produced under the watchful eye and the commercial nous of Richard D'Oyly Carte. In my youth many of the 14 comedic operetta became the focus of a schools dramatic efforts in an annual focus for the parents as proof of excellence.

Last Friday the subplot for a modern such expose' of comic theatre was revealed when King Twoheaters, from his Huntley "palace", issued a claim for the entire City of Sails only to have his opening with an Ace smashed when Rankin a so called leader of Nga Puhi played what he thought was a trump card.
King Twoheater has a realm that stretches from his back fence to his letterbox and is the current manifestation of a joke early Tainui leaders presented as their counter to Queen Victoria in the beginnings of civilised settlement of our nation.

Now would be a great time for our government to put the ongoing nonsense around The Treaty that should have been consigned to File Thirteen well over a hundred years ago to its long overdue resting place in a glass cabinet in Te Papa.
How many other bits of signed paper that were placed on the record as part of a face saving exercise in bringing a peaceful end to what at that time seemed to be intractable problems, are still given such credence?

The 'King', as I understand it has no legal ability in law to bring his claim to the table. Such nonsensical utterings though, provide fertile ground to create an aura of mayhem in the minds of many. For some, opportunity to make Koha, and another larger body of people who only see more Taxpayer dosh flushed in paying for the ongoing bad dream.

A truck driver swapping his drivers seat for a "throne',
A wayward second son in court using a possible impediment to his right of succession as mitigation,
Mr Paki being crowned as King Tuheitia, when Paki was comic enough,
Quadrupling the cost of his "Court " from the $250 000 of his late Mum, to a nice round Million,
His posing as "royalty" when the real world says otherwise,
David Rankin of Nga Puhi openly rubbishing such pretentions,
Mischievous stirrers suggesting the "king" be the governor general,
As a contrast with a penchant for earlier "Monarchs" with "real" thrones to be educated this one has no ability in Te Reo, his English aint that flash either,
Attending equally comic pseudo celebrations in Island Realms as a modern "Poo bah".

Each and all providing such a rich resource for an aspiring creative writer except the public that might support such creativity are reaching the level of disbelief that cynics reached years ago, telling them that some emperors indeed have very suspect raiment.

How long before a truly aspirational leader emerges to place the nonsense in its rightful place in history?

Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen, The clouded sky is now serene, The god of day ? the orb of love, Has hung his ensign high above, The sky is all ablaze. With wooing words and loving song We'll/They'll chase the lagging hours along, And if I/he find(s) the maiden coy, We'll murmur forth decorous joy In dreamy roundelays

Sunday, August 23, 2015

The number one distributor of free canary cage and cat box liners in The City of Sails has an online headline;
"MP's nephew assaults partner'.
With a follow up text;
"The nephew of Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has been convicted of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend".
I guess they could have dived under the sewage and mentioned Sam is a Pacific Islander by ethnicity for those who missed the connection under the Twit Twyford 'ethnicity index'.

Then would it have been worse if it had been ;
"Nigger Nat has thug relative convicted of giving the bash to his knocked up current squeeze"!

Give me strength, really, how many nephews does Sam have? how many of those are under his direct family household influence? just what on earth does it have to do with one of the better members in all respects, of the current parliament?
Even had Sam not been in a judicial portfolio as Minister of Corrections would it have been of any relevance?

I am aware that there is new legislated restraints on using the internet to bully and denigrate a person with some quite serious sanctions so I guess, does such law apply to "The Horrid" using their webpage to make a unwarranted and tenuous attack on Sam because one of his distant relatives has been convicted. As if attacking another member of the current Cabinet because he has a brother in court wasn't bad enough, a bloody nephew? Pardon me your panties are showing and they are seriously stained. Someone needs to point that out to A Paper masquerading as a Mainstream media organisation with its skilled and talented scribes.

Here is hoping the convicted does not have his connection to Sam Lotu Liga given further exposure as it is a total beatup and he will be vulnerable to Bevan Hanlon's bunch of thugs who are all OK as they work for NZ Inc., not that dreaded Serco mob.

"When asked if he'd consider allowing New Zealand First leader Winston
Peters to serve as prime minister in a Labour-led government, even for
just part of a term, Mr Little said it was too far away from the next
election to discuss coalition agreements."

Speaking of advertorials, how much Auckland ratepayers' money is being siphoned off to the Herald to pay for the recent torrent of misinformation and propaganda about 'livable Auckland?'

It must be quite a bit because according to Roy Morgan the herald has alienated 51% of its potential market so it sure as hell needs a new revenue stream.

Now they are going to put in an online paywall. That must be the brainiest piece of marketing ever. None of the 50.5% will pay to read the rabid junk these people publish.

"This chap Andrew Little, currently Leader of the New Zealand Labour
Party – (who bears such an uncanny resemblance to British comedian of
yester-year Arthur Askey – whose catchword was ‘Ai Thang yeow’ (I thank
you)) – is on a hiding to nothing in the long run."

Except it is not Alice, it is not wonderland, there is no walrus and it is happening right now.

In the aftermath of the last Australian federal election, the clear winner Tony Abbott and his Liberal National coalition set up a Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, nominating a retired Federal Judge John Dyson Heyden AC QC as the Commissioner.
Only a blind man with a broken stick, a deeply profound hearing loss and no ability to read braile would be unaware that Trade Union corruption and fraudulent activity does exist at all levels of labor politics, work and commerce across The Lucky Country.

Now Australian politics at all levels has a much greater involvement and indeed dominating role from a Union movement that although diminished and less relevant along with much of the western world due in large part from an educated and knowledgeable public, still holds Labor in a vice like grip, pun intended

Some of the motivation for Abbott's action was to investigate the serious involvement in Union manipulation of The Labor Party at state and federal level but there was in addition, a raft of serious financial irregularities across almost all union activity. In the beginnings of trade unionism where the workers at a work sight banded together to represent their members in pay and conditions, it made remarkable and much needed reform. In 2015 that need is much diuted and workers, better informed and with many more options including a liberating mobility has led to the bully boys seeking other fields of endeavour. Unfortunately that has morphed into fraud, misuse of power and corruption in the Union funds and where they are directed. One ex union official, Kathy Jackson who first hit the Aussie headlines as a whistle blower that saw Michael Williamson off to the 'Big House' for an all expenses holiday, she herself has been exposed as a thief and last week a court ordered her to repay over one million dollars to the HSU.
Google; Craig Thompson, Bruce Wilson, Kathy Jackson, Cesar Melhem, Fihi Kivalu, Brian Parker, Michael Williamson, any or all and that is a very short list off the top of my head. Then there is Bob Kernohan, bashed to within centimeters of his life for refusing to shut his gob when he decided there was just too much financial corruption involving union funds and declined a safe federal Labor seat as reward for his silence he refused to deliver.

With the joined at the hip relationship between AUS Unions and AUS Labor no sane person with more than ten brain cells would deny that there was an anti union undercurrent in Abbotts appointing the Heydon Commission and it is ludicrous to suggest that the Labor party would ever want its power base turned over by appointing such an inquiry.
However after months of hearings where several Trade Union officials have already been arrested and are facing court action based on evidence produced to Heydon's R C, including ex NZ league international John Lomax.
All while the Federal opposition leader Bill Shorten is facing an ever growing steaming pile of damaging evidence including from his own mouth, facing another appearance at the RC, the calls from the socialists to get the whole shebang shut down are hopefully going to end in Heydon standing firm.

It is the daft bloody Liberal nonce who caused this who should be the one to be pushed under a bus.
The whole demolition attempt is based on an invitation for Heydon to address a liberal lawyers memorial lecture in honour of Sir Garfield Barwick, the longest serving Federal Supreme Court Chief Justice and ex Liberal MP and Attorney General, only to find later there was a fund raising component, that had Heydon correctly decline to attend.
So because Heydon was at one time intending to attend an annual dinner honouring an outstanding judicial identity and make the keynote speech, later cancelled, is grounds for his recusing himself for implied bias.

Todays Commission substantive hearing has been suspended while the ACTU and other union lawyers are making a concerted effort to fulfil the union wish to have the commission dissolved to prevent further damaging evidence being exposed. They are also sowing the seeds for an implied bias should Heydon carry on and more union crooks are indicted, to allow appeal and legal challenge of his findings.

Once appointed there are only three ways such an autonomous judicial entity can be ended and they do not include dismissal as many of the luvvies and the crooked union people still evading prosecution are stridently calling for.
Dyson Heydon can stand down, the Governor General could withdraw the warrant or poor old John dies.
This is in fact a profound, substantial and in many ways monumental attack on the independence of such fact finding process. Just attacking the hearings as the terrified union officials and their political allies are in fact doing, is seen by many as de facto contempt of court.

With the eye watering amounts of money being bandied about, the apparent belief that unionists are somehow exempt from the laws that rule the mores and behaviours that control mere mortals and the innate belief that there is no requirement for unions to be held to account ever, I consider it is imperative that Dyson Heydon finish the commissions work.

Friday, August 21, 2015

When I signed up for 'life saving' in the middle of last century, remember the Holgar Nielson manouvre, the first imperitive was to be aware of the serious danger in approaching a flailing drowning person in deep water.

The latest Roy Morgan poll normally awaited as the great hope for the socialists, has a floundering, Angry Andy and Twit Twyford dragging brave little Jimmy under the waves.

National has shot over the 50% barrier while the pensioner rests on the clubhouse deck single malt to hand watching his Leader of the Opposition challenge drowning with the melon attempting a rescue on a total at 38%.

Once again the inherent sensibility of the voting public thwarts the very best efforts of a sycophantic MSM.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Labour at 27% is down 5%, almost entirely due to Twyford's desicable antics.

“Prime Minister John Key’s National (50.5%, up 7.5% since July) has
regained the lead from a potential Labour/Greens alliance 38% (down 5%)
following controversial remarks regarding the booming Auckland housing
market by Labour housing spokesperson Phil Twyford in July. The Key
Government’s strength is backed up by a rise in Roy Morgan Government
Confidence 120pts (up 2pts) which remains far higher in New Zealand than
‘across the ditch’ in Australia - Australian Government Confidence is now at a record low 86.

“Twyford appeared to blame the rapid increase on housing prices in
Auckland on Chinese buyers according to housing sales data supplied by
an unidentified firm. Twyford released data that showed nearly 40% of
housing purchase transactions in Auckland between February and April
2015, of 4,000 sales recorded in the data, were by ethnic Chinese. The
latest New Zealand Census data from 2013 shows ethnic Chinese comprise
around 10% of the Auckland population.

September 2010, Saturday 4th 0430, in our mobile home at Steam Scene, McLeans Island Rd, what sounded like an approaching train, wasn't and Canterbury was changed for ever by the first of many seismic events.

Of the subsequent events February 22nd 2011 was the most tragic due to the loss of life as structures were completely brought down and it was the two comparatively modern buildings that accounted for the almost inexplicable and subsequently proven with hindsight, probably avoidable deaths. OK it was a miracle that no one was in the crumbling Cathedral though I have some nominees to be present for a re-run of that sad 1st stage demolition.

Tragic for those who lost loved ones, miraculous for those who set about the rescue as none of them perished, and rewarding for those responsible that so much of the initial response was so well performed amidst the chaos that was always never going to be vaguely similar to anything trained for.
The reality of overloaded communications, clogged roads, general confusion and thousands of people on the move appeared to be miraculously coped with.

Our own residence in Akaroa, suffered all its repairable damage in that first event centred on the Greendale fault near Charing Cross, with none of the many subsequent events centred on the Peninsula and the Port Hills adding to that from the initial event.

As the dust literally settled, some other cracks appeared and grew bigger while those the community had chosen to deal with such matters were too often exposed as having feet of clay.

Two such responses stand out as very poor, to the ongoing disasters and it is clear those who would rule over us do not have the necessary intellectual grunt to accept the grievious errors exposed and make glaringly necessary changes.

Insurance where the EQC model was laid bare as a bumbling inept and totally illequipped structure to deal with the unfolding events.
By totally ignoring and intentionally bypassing the relationships and expertise that the industry already possessed and had functioning, EQC set about building from a very small clerical and investment base, a functioning assessment and reinstatement base operation that resulted in many instances of incompetence while all the expertise with its easily augmented resources possesed by the industry watched with growing disbelief at the unfolding chaos.

Then the government made an even bigger error in appointing Fletcher Building as the supreme entity to oversee the rebuild and most of the problems that EQC delivered in the insurance field were repeated, as Fletchers set about assembling their necessary team. They resorted to old retired builders, many of whom were operating at a level far in excess of their talent with the added impediment of being forced to work in the unfamilliar work place environment that comes with a large corporate and a bunch of bright young things with little appreciation of the task at hand.
As things moved on, the pear became further mishapen as the Big Boys working with the serious clout given to the corporate and ignored almost all the accumulated expertise and experience of the in situ building industry. That new model employed as contractors many who had until then been casual hammer hands, part of an itinerant workforce in ChCh and elsewhere. Painters, carpenters, plasterers, plumbers, tilers, roofers, re-pilers, concrete placers, Gib installers and sparkies were upgraded at the local supplier of overalls, hi-viz jerkins and hard hats to a status equal to builders who had spent years gaining their knowledge, keeping abreast of every modern development in the industry, technical, legal, and practical.
These gurus suddenly elevated in stature, bought a second hand ute, assembled some tools, a few even lower qualified mates and were immediately ordained as "Builders". I know of some, one would hesitate to engage to repair a rabbit hutch being the contractor to reinstate some very challenging damage to structures that many experienced builders would hesitate to consider for a project, particularly under the very limited funding and mind boggling hoop jumping that Fletchers expected to prevail.
In our own case a tiled floor that had cracked was to have the damaged tiles lifted without damage to the "under floor Heating net" below. When the inevitable happened and the heating circuit was totalled there was a requirement to lodge a supplementary assessment for reinstatement with accompanying delays. Such mindless ignoring of knowledge and trust for a builder of some 30 years
experience in the area, led him to end his association with the rebuild and our reinstatement was his last under the Fletcher model.
I am without a doubt, certain his quote and working with our insurance Company would have had our damage reinstated earlier, more expeditiously, for a far lower figure than that which Fletchers and EQC managed to achieve.

The news that some thousands of repairs are now being revealed as substandard comes as absolutely no surprise and although the suggestion from Darlow, although possibly quite accurate, has ignited a response worthy of a Trumpism.
There will be a very small number of those responsible who will be contributing financially to 'putting it right'.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The chatterati fixation on the current lower prices for NZ Dairy exports reveals a need to find a process to turn the daily garbage produced by almost all those pontificating into fertilizer, at least that would create something useful

Fonterra is a highly visible, high profile corporate in NZ, they suffer slings and arrows because of that fact and with so many included in the wide spread total scene as suppliers, process workers, tanker drivers, then add in the massive numbers involved in Dairy support farming, maintenance, construction and upgrading of farms, factories and freight down stream nearly everybody has some connection to someone involved.
That makes for many armchair experts, however their knowledge is based on more accurate information than much of the sheer guesswork and making stuff up that emanates from the aforementioned Chatterati

That however is the local scene and has so very little to do with what has been creating headlines for the media and attack lines for politicians both relying on the significant lack of understanding of that which goes to make the present trading price what it is. World dairy trade perhaps one of the most volatile and protected commodities that has storage and shelf life challenges.

Some facts:
Dairy Trade in New Zealand is a minor part of the nation's GDP. $16 billion out of over $300 billion around 2%.
Dairy product consumed locally is a very small segment of the total production at around 5%
Although NZ share of world cross border trade as a share of the total world dairy production is massive it is still subject to serious protectionist tariffs and competition from heavily subsidized production. US Farmers are paid around twice the world price largely made up with Federal subsidies. The EU is similar. Those farmers were granted protection to maintain post war production when the dependence on locally produced dairy was politically sensitive and having got used to the fixed price well above what the market dictated they were not about to let it go.

Holding back some of what would have been offered in the latest auction might have had a minor influence in the lift in the prices received but it would be totally laughable that those looking to trade would have been unaware that there are massive stocks in store in NZ and with the already commenced new season underway, storage space will be a growing concern for Fonterra.
A basic working knowledge of maths would destroy any hopes of keeping those facts secret
NZ trades most of its exports as commodity and changing that would be problematical as selecting the product lines require a plant adaption in almost all options. eg Blue cheeses cannot be produced in a space producing non blue cheeses.
As with wines product nomenclature is fraught with many traps around locality based names.
Trading in whey, whole milk, skim milk powders and infant formulae all make product stability reasonably simple, whereas butter and cheese require more sophisticated chilling systems for storage and transport.

Tatua have a secure product production and marketing process locked in but even then they suffer from the fluctuating world prices for base material - raw milk.

Much of the yoghurt, ice cream and prepared flavoured milk throughout the world is reconstituted from powder and the scary pronouncements from the Latte set are infantile.

Organic milk is a minute opportunity and with the dangers that such production can face from many challenges, to suggest converting larger quantities of the production to organic quickly could soon destroy the attractive price differentials.

English and his National mates are running with this current cyclical downturn in a measured and reasonable fashion and should the chatterati find something else to hit the "greedy farmers" and the "Key Government" around the head with, then they might actually stumble upon something that they have a small understanding of.
World commodity trade, dairying and marketing are not even a small part of that.

Last year NZ voters were subjected to the most serious attempt in our short history to purchase our democracy but thanks to the well known summary that you can fool some of the people some of the time but you cannot fool all the people all the time, our fragile democracy survived more or less intact.

A person whom many wonder how he could be so successful in his chosen field yet be a total nonce in politics, has spent eye watering amounts only to fail to secure an electorate seat or break the 5% barrier to our list system. He is now submerged in a morass of political stupidity trying to regain a shred of credibility by threats to sue some of those perceived to have caused his demise.
The second was far more overt and it turns out even more spectacular as a failure, who spent sums as yet still largely a mystery and managed to lose an already held electorate seat and also coming up short on the 5%. It would appear his main motivation to enter the political tournaments was avoidance of a possible extradition to the US to face federal courts.
The net result of millions of dollars spent has both the megalomaniacs wondering where it all went wrong but it was simply that too many voters saw through the cascade of dosh and rejected what were blatant forays into the electoral landscape giving massive support to the theory that big bucks wont buy political power, it is simple things such as policy, trust, competence and ability that matter to a majority of voters.

The United States is being subjected to a similar tilt at power only the spend and the stakes are monumentally larger.
Donald Trump has inherited wealth that he has finangled through near bankruptcies and successes to a fortune that is speculative at best, as to its real value, has now at 69 years old, entered the primaries to contest the position of Republican candidate for the presidency.
Inevitably with his total absence from political reality and the dead rat feasting that must accompany anyone who lives in that surreal world, he has made what to most mortals would end up as career ending foot in mouth outbreaks.
Early in his play he hopped onto the festering sore that has crime and illegal immigrants crossing the porous border from Mexico into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
'Chumps' solution to build a "wall" from the Gulf to the Pacific a distance of over 3000 km was announced but within hours of that totally stupid and bound to have minimal impact, came disclosure that one of the most wanted criminals on either side of that border, had tunnelled over one km to freedom from a secure Mexican gaol. So that left the Chump trying to sell a seriously inept idea that when costing appeared was well in excess of a billion US$ and that was only for a model that a child could defeat let alone one to impede those seriously motivated.
His next highlight came in a televised candidates debate where The Chump made extremely unfortunate remarks to a moderator, relating to her menstrual cycle.
He is not a loose cannon he is politically a moronic idiot who after over half a century of total control of all who come near his economic domination, best summed up by his dismissal of aspiring candidates on a TV show "you are fired"!

A long time Democrat he clearly saw an opportunity for a political success as the Republican presidential candidate and with his penchant for destroying every thing in his path without consideration of possible value he is on track to obliterate any chance for the Grand Old Party to get anywhere near the Whitehouse November 2016.
With his stated intent, albeit just as often retracted, to run as an independent if thwarted as the Republican nominee. It's almost certain as things stand at present his machinations will obliterate any small chance that any of the dozens of Republican aspirants could possibly wish for.
Fertile grounds for conspiracy theorists in The US to suggest he is still doing good works for the Democrats but that is highly implausible given the massive ego involved.

How many of that two dozen would be a real Jaffa on an assessment of ethnicity by names.
Now for the bonus where would the NZLP have those Canadians placed on a Barfoot & Thompson Client list as a domicile if they were a part of the voracious Canadian "foreign investors" who swamped the list as the biggest spenders revealed today.

Danyll McLachlan has a fascinating post at Sim Post on the failings of the left. Well worth a read,

A peceptive reader commented thus:-

"Interesting stalk horse for change in Green candidate selection and their work in the House & Media when elected.Sounds like a call for a clean out and selection of some more
pragmatic people with fine tuned antennae for the hoi polloi…… people
who can’t be tarred with the bat shit crazy brush easily?Has Mr Shaw identified the current crop in caucus are a liability to
achieving a balance of power position and being able to work with either
major party and actual use that to advance green issues from inside
government?"

Which brings me to the subject of this post, Meteria Turei.

I have always felt she is a person who is co-leader of her party because of her gender and her race rather than any trace of ability or political acumen. A glance at her Wiki page shows her political achievements over thirteen long years in office. Here they are.

"In 2006, Turei's Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot.[1] The bill received a conscience vote at its first reading, but was defeated 84–34.[2] Later that year, her Liquor Advertising (Television and Radio) Bill was also drawn, but it too was defeated.[3]"

"In July 2009 Turei's Marine Animals Protection Law Reform Bill, which
would strengthen protection for dolphins and other marine mammals, was
drawn from the member's ballot.[4][5] The bill was defeated at its first reading later that month.[6]"

"In October 2012 her Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009
(Application to Casinos) Amendment bill was drawn from the ballot.
Before its first reading however, National, ACT and United Future said
they would not be voting for it."

Not exactly a stellar record of success.

And so it was that I was to comment also:-

Excellent piece Danyll. Thank you.I suspect most people don’t take much notice of what politicians say
but do take notice of what they do. In this respect, I suggest Meteria
Turei is an enormous liability who will drag down her recently appointed
co-leader who appears to be a sensible and promising fellow.The subliminal message projected by Turei is the antithesis of
everything I thought The Greens stood for. She projects an aura of
stunning materialism and gluttony. I doubt she has ever been within a
mile of a cycle way.

Rodney Hide was hounded out of the ACT Party for transgressing his perkbusta mantra. Why on earth is a person who takes such pleasure in the privileges of capitalism allowed to stay at the helm of the Greens?

The Greens need to move a little to the centre and go into coalition with National, getting some policy concessions in the process and ending decades of political irrelevance. What a wonderful way to pay back Labour for its years of insults and to leave Peters stumbling in the wilderness where he belongs.

Monday, August 17, 2015

In world terms it is a minor force in world trade even 'Dairy' where NZ is only a larger than most off shore trader.

As a producer of anything it can sell it has an enviable reputation for quality and supply.

New Zealand is a functioning Democracy. In the real world the current government is dominated by a Social Democratic Party.

Free trade deals almost without exception make trading more profitable in particular for primary producers.

A successful TPPA will bring incalculable benefits to every facet of our extremely challenged largely commodity based exports.

One only needs to peruse the list of those at the forefront of the opposition to an agreement that they know absolutely nothing about as to its final shape and effects. The rent a mob are either brain dead morons, academics with a secure sinecure and no need to get down and dirty to produce a single saleable product, or those who just as with the Flag oppose it just because it is being attempted by a National Government led by the Antichrist himself.

I do not recall any similar reaction when the Clark administration negotiated the China Freetrade agreement, or is it OK when the socialists do it and if it was say Megan Woods instead of Tim Grosser all would be well or would Kelsey and her moronic tribal followers all be as exercised as I would be surprised.

What level of opposition would exist should the Media promote some of the eye watering financial gains to be accumulated for the nation instead of harping on about a potential increase in subsidy provided to offset the so far non existent increase in pharmaceutical costs for Pharmac that the current government has given an undertaking to meet, or a nebulous theory of loss of sovereignty already under serious attack from denials of entry , usurious tariffs and other constraints to trade.

The bottom line opposition rests entirely with a potential windfall that the hard left would love to deny the Key mob from ever delivering because it would make their dreams of power a mirage even further from reach.

Peters reckons Mike Hosking is biased and now a bunch of dopey Lab Scabs and Melons are climbing aboard.

If they had sufficient braincells to make an accurate assessment they might have concluded that Hosking refuses to act as the voice of socialism that many on the left see as a duty for all in the media to act against all and every action from the current government.

Of course if Rachel Smalley is the required standard then I guess they would say that wouldn't they.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

A young thug goes to a dairy with the intent to carry out a planned robbery, carrying a knife, things deteriorate and the dairy owner dies in the arms of his distraught wife from stab wounds delivered by the alleged robber. The whole incident is recorded on cctv yet the perpetrator is deemed not to have murdered the asian dairy owner, he was only guilty of manslaughter suggesting the death only came about as an unintentional out come of robbery.

Another young man attends a 'twenty first' that is closed down due to drunken behavior. One of the attendees then has his brother set upon by one with no connection to the 21st but closely connected to The Headhunters Gang, when reaching the street. The unarmed party goer retires somewhere nearby and arms himself with a long handled slasher, actually a "billhook" having a hooked blade and nothing resembling a much lighter "sickle" as proposed in the published evidence. On returning to the street fight the slasher wielding man removes part of the skull of his brothers attacker who is still kicking his victim on the ground, causing the attack to cease.
There things might have ended but for the fact the now missing a fairly necessary bit of his head and apparently now dieing headhunter happens to have been shacked up with an in the past troubled young lady, the step daughter of the late Sir Paul Holmes that adds a completely unconnected celebrity angle in the minds of a childlike and inane media.

After a trial where evidence was so harrowing as to have members of the public leave due to its gruesome nature, Michael Murray is guilty of murder.

Call me naive, simple thick, dumb or any other descriptive but I need it to have it explained how one entring a dairy armed and intent on robbery with violence somehow kills at a lesser serious level, yet another armes himself in the middle of an unplanned street fight in a moment of serious escalating violence, is a murderer.

Personally the only sympathy I can find for any of those involved in either serious acts of violence is poor old Mr Kumar and his still suffering family while all the other tales of mindless violence that results in far lesser persons, bashed, dead or damaged are of somewhat lesser moment, but as to how the difference of degree of culpable killing emerges as entirely inexplicable, hence my request.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

"Te Whare Rongoa-House of Medicine in Kaitaia,...........Wairarapa woman Teodora Palmieri-Chuck, 45, was found dead at Te Whare
Rongoa " House of Medicine" in Kaitaia on June 29, 2013. She had paid
$6500 plus GST for ibogaine treatment, an unapproved but legal
experimental drug used in this instance to treat her opiate drug
addiction."

These are the sorts of joints which thrive on predation upon the ignorant.

And yes, it appears she did pay in advance. The family should send a delegation of heavies to negotiate on behalf of the cadaver.

Yahoo reports that since installing GPS monitoring in their fleet there have been eight and a half thousand incidents of exceeding speed limits that could incur fines detected by cars belonging to New Zealand Transport Authority. Some speeding in excess of 140 kph, (Nearly $600 penalty for a peasant unlucky enough to be caught)
In total there have been over 200 000 incidents revealed of exceeding 100 kph posted limits

These are the simian moronic bastards who have pissed gazillions of taxpayer dollars down many toilets while ignoring the salient fact that much if not most of the almost unbelievable decline in deaths from road crashes has not come from their grandiose extravagant campaigns against minor levels of alcohol in a drivers blood and speeding, it is a direct result of the exponential advances in structural strength of vehicles with stronger pillars, side bars, crumple zones, restraints, air bags and cocoon protection from ongoing crash research. When coupled with a much faster response by paramedics trained to deliver almost all of the well proven early treatment interventions that were the basis of the now redundant as a focus, "Golden Hour", the powers that be understand entirely what has happened they just avoid ever admitting it.
Still plenty of crashes just fewer dead.

Now lets, with some assumptions, do some maths.
With the fine at around $100 for an excess of around 17kph outside of the oh so idiotic special 'reduced for the holiday' tolerances and with 8 500 infractions that will have the department of morons fine exposure getting up towards a million bucks.
Do the serving morons pay the fines incurred while driving the company fleet vehicles or will we have the charade of the NZTA paying themselves with their own money that once upon a time was expropriated from a hard working law abiding taxpayers under duress by a rapacious government that employs the aforementioned morons on our behalf.
I understand some of those involved "have been spoken to"
That simple statement alone has me recalling the legend where Todd Blackadder was given a warning by a SA ref and on re-joining his Crusader mates under the posts for the penalty attempt was suggested to have said, "ref says we are doing fine keep it up boys"

Will there be any consequences, alas probably not but it is somewhat reassuring that in spite of their seriously ott rhetoric and garbage "seen to be doing something", deep down they do not believe the rubbish they spend all that wasted money on with advertising campaigns. That must have that sector of the economy feeling like those lucky bastards from Toll Holdings did, when malicious Mad Mickey fronted with the dosh to repossess a train set nobody else in the world wanted at any price.

I can imagine all those at the top including motor mouth Andy Knapstead, Supt Dave Cliff, The Honourable Simon Bridges MP, CE Geoff Dangerfield will all be charged with conspiracy to commit gross negligence by their staff while failing to protect the NZ Road Users.
Then Helf an safty could charge them with failing to protect staff from identifiable dangers.

I guess it is not only the lower ranks who oppose the revealing introduction of GPS technology, the "Indians" will be dreaming of the chiefs being forced to remove the considerable quantities of egg from their faces as a minimum mea culpa.
Resignations, Nah, someone else to blame surely.

Last month I blogged here on the cowardly attack by Winston Peters and Kelvin Davis on David Wong Tung, husband of Judith Collins, alleging that a company of which he is a director was involved in the illegal export of swamp kauri from its Northland sawmill. I say cowardly deliberately because the attack was made under parliamentary privilege in the knowledge that they could not be sued for defamation even if it was proved wrong.Both 'gentlemen' were challenged to repeat the claim outside the House. They declined. Why should they ... the damage was done, mud sticks and, why open themselves to civil action anyway? But the allegation was taken up and repeated on State radio leaving the broadcaster to face the music in a clear case of 'act in haste, repent at leisure'. You can read their grovelling apology here. As for the "we did not intend to suggest that Oravida and Mr Wong-Tung were involved in the illegal export of swamp kauri logs or that they had exported swamp kauri in breach of the Forests Act" and you gotta be kidding. That was exactly what Peters and Davis were allegingand you got sucked into repeating the defamation. What is not reported in the apology is the quantum of damages agreed on. I expect they were substantial.And now we can expect both Peters and Davis to apologize for their collective cowardly allegation now proven false ... can we what!!!! Since when has Peters apologised for anything including the rorting of the taxpayer $159k to finance his election campaign and, as for Davis, thought he was a cut above the rest but now he takes his place alongside the rest of Labour's dirt brigade.

While Parliament was annoying swmbo yesterday my interest was alerted when David Seymour requested leave of the house to present a bill that would enable bars to remain open for the duration of the RWC, half a day and contemporaneously half a world away later this year.

Was there any objection, hell yes from the bunch of perennial losers and posers who would only wonder why the rugby ball is that shape and so much larger than their logic might dictate it need be.

Good old greens, they just love to remind us all, who from childhood declined broccoli, cabbage, silver beet, brussel sprouts, asparagus, broad beans and every vegetable other than peas that went to make up a healthy diet, yesterday made another dopy move to alienate almost every citizen of the nation.
Particularly those who believe that an unintended consequence of draconian wowser promoted social engineering proscribes the opportunity for rugby fans to gather at bars to enjoy what for a majority of us see as an inalienable human right.
For those who find maypole dancing, morris dancing, and pointless protesting success by others as a pinnacle of athletic achievement, it is easy to understand how such dropkicks could misread public opinion.
However to plunge into the abyss of stupidity just because the ACT MP made the move will do little to alter the thinking of any other than the committed Marxists and those who find their legitimate concern for things green trampled again by the jackboots wearers who know best already included in their glass ceiling at 10%.

Updted
Prior to question time today someone must have bashed some coconuts together as his introduction "take 2" was granted without opposition.

Andrew Little always focuses on the little picture.His latest crisis declaration for the dairy
industry is a classic example.

What Little and various Federated Farmer know it alls have
failed to see is the big picture which simply is one of a correction in supply
and demand taking place.Another part of
the correction will be New Zealand’s pre-eminent position as the world’s lowest
cost producer of milk solids.

Forty years ago, the dairy industry was an all grass, all
rain, clover/ryegrass industry, restricted to naturally fertile soil
types.Note how all these factors are no
cost or low cost.

Today’s modern dairy farmer has taken up many of Europe’s
husbandries in the headlong quest for maximizing (rather than optimizing)
production, as he chased every last cent of an inflated $8+ pay out.

Thus was the industry’s international competitive advantage
lost to greed.

Over the next year or sowe will see a return to low cost dairy farming where only moderate
levels of potassic super are applied each year, where little urea is used to
force feed grass growth and where bought in feed no longer exists. Ironically this will please the Greens because it will see
at least a twenty percent reduction in the size of the national dairy herd.

Then it won’t matter if China expands its dairy industry
because it’s costs of production will be uncompetitive.China will buy from NZand on-sell to Russia – just as itis doing today.